The Cast—In San Jose!! (Not to be confused with the family in Liberia where I’m an au pair)

Aug 5th 2009
The Cast—In San Jose!! (Not to be confused with the family in Liberia where I’m an au pair)

And now for the cast of characters co-starring in my Costa Rica life.
Ilse (Ill-say) My tica momma. She is very beautiful and kind hearted. She spends 90% of her time cooking food for people: serving it to them, talking to them, laughing with them, hugging them, and then cleaning up after them. I love her. She has made my stay in Costa Rica so warm and loving.
Ilse’s kids:
Ilsita, Ernesto, and Rudy. They are 27,25, and 22.
Ilsita has two kids: Kendall and Camilla. A boy whose 4 and a girl who is 3. They’re soooo cute. Her husband Heymeill lived in the states for a year and is very cool and nice. They live upstairs.
Ernesto is married to Daniella who is pregnant and due in November. She is so nice and beautiful. Her dad is the sweetest old man. He played his guitar and sang to me on my birthday.
Behind our little gated driveway is our house, Yoleny’s, and a little Nicaraguan family.
Yoleny is a CRAZY neighbor who yells (she never speaks at a normal volume) with a deep smoker’s voice. She is usually laughing, shouting, or crying. She comes over everyday. She has three kids: Andreas, Esteban, and Racquel. Ages 17,15, and 13 respectivley. The first night I met them they all ran up and hugged me, sat next to me on the couch, and started exclaiming about my beautiful blue eyes, and pretty smile, and did I have a boyfriend? How long was I staying? How old am I? Do I have a cell phone? Can I see it? Do you have pictures of your family??? Esteban is as funny and crazy as his mom. He is definitely very loud and very gay. He always asks to straighten my hair because he wants to be a hair stylist. He has the most hysterical laugh. Racquel constantly gives me hugs and tells me I’m pretty.
Last but not least is Sibylle!!!!! She is Swiss and the most amazing friend I’ve made in Costa Rica. Ilse is her host mom too. She lives with us. Her mom died when she was two, she met her Turkish husband when she was 15, got married at 16, had kids at 20, and just recently got divorced. She speaks Swiss German, German, Turkish, French, Italian, and now a little Spanish. She has had an amazing life and I’ve learned so much from her. She is so much fun and she’s crazy too, full of laughter and love.

Now I’m in Liberia with a new family. I’ve been here a week and half and its been the hardest time of my life. I’ve learned a lot though in this short period of time though. I don’t know if I’ll be staying here the whole time. I’m going to give it a month before I move on to something else or go back to my Costa Rican family in San Pedro. Ilse already told me to come back
I’m an au pair (nanny) for the Palaez family: Julio, the dad; Abuelita, the grandma, don’t actually know her name; Melanie, 6 yr old girl; Sebastian, 3 yr old boy. They also have a maid named Sandra who is alright. More on this crazy family later…